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SKYLINES
SKYLINESNEWS.COM
ISSUE 38 • FALL 2020/WINTER 2021 • VOLUME 11
WITH RELEASE OF VIDEO IN SUPPORT OF “SCAFFOLD LAW” MORATORIUM
BILLION DOLLAR FIX POINTS WAY TO NY ECONOMIC RECOVERY “The state governments have gotten precisely zero (0), zilch, nada… We need financial resources to stabilize the state.”
Following up on their urgent appeal to Governor Andrew Cuomo asking him to use his executive authority to issue a 12-month moratorium on the “absolute liability” provisions of the “anachronistic and inequitable” “Scaffold Law” (see SKYlines Issue 37), a broadening coalition of New York City and State construction, real estate, and non-for-profit organizations— have posted a video titled “New York Billion Dollar Fix 2020” to their new website, BillionDollarFix.nyc.
How an outdated law is hampering New York State’s economic recovery, and how this “fix” can release billions of dollars into the struggling economy and create thousands of jobs.
The statute, comprised of New York Labor Law sections 240/241 and commonly known as the “Scaffold Law,” holds contractors, property owners and their agents, absolutely liable for any gravityrelated injuries sustained by a worker, irrespective of gross negligence on the part of the worker. The video explains the origins of the law in the late 1800’s, when worker protections were scant at best, and goes on to show how the creation of governmental agencies and the advancement of worker rights and protections since it was enacted, have made “Scaffold Law” not only obsolete, but have also turned what was intended as a shield of protection into a sword
Andrew Cuomo, New York Governor
of abuse. At the heart of the argument, the video explains how the Governor of New York has a unique opportunity to help jumpstart the economy. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic state of emergency, the Governor can use his executive authority to issue a 12-month moratorium on the provisions of the “Scaffold Law” from absolute strict liability to comparative fault and save billions of taxpayers’ —and private businesses— dollars in insurance costs. These billions can be better invested in the badly needed infrastructure projects and help generate thousands of jobs in the construction industry and other businesses in the state, without affecting any of the workers’
rights and protections in place. The video states numerous facts supporting the repeal of the “Scaffold Law”. Infrastructure • It costs more to build infrastructure projects in New York than anywhere else in the world.¹ A mile of subway in NYC costs $3.1B versus $928M in American cities like San Francisco, or $400M in similarly dense cities like Tokyo. • Insurance costs on the Second Avenue Subway ballooned from $93M to $554M, a rise blamed on the Scaffold Law.² • The Scaffold Law is estimated to have added $200M - $400M to the cost of the Mario Cuomo bridge.³
